Chapter 199: A Crushing Defeat
Kobayashi and Ari's figures disappeared, leaving only Freya, still sitting elegantly and bewitchingly in her chair. She leaned on the armrest, swirling the red wine glass in her hand, her eyes fixed on the direction they had left, lost in thought.
Suddenly, the candlelight on the far wall flickered slightly, and a figure appeared silently behind her.
He did not speak, nor did he show any blame or anger, but just stood there silently, as if protecting the Goddess Freya.
"Ottar."
She softly called the man's name.
He was Freya's strongest, and at the same time, the strongest man in Orario, the "Boar" Ottar.
"Ottar, don't tell me you've come to blame me? For not listening to your advice, for willfully sneaking out, and for making a move to buy so many slaves and an expensive mansion," she said with a smile, swirling her wine glass.
If you understand that, then you shouldn't have done it.
He did not speak, but his tightly furrowed brow and deep eyes all conveyed this meaning.
In truth, she understood everything.
But if she could control herself, control her free and willful divinity, then she wouldn't be Freya, the Goddess of Beauty.
"I have no intention of blaming you," Ottar bowed, and said with the utmost respect, "Lady Freya's will is our will. No matter what, we will surely fulfill your needs."
"Hehe, thank you."
She let out a light laugh.
She could hear a trace of resentment in his tone, but this was also the common opinion of the eight executives of the Familia: since it has already come to this, just let the goddess do as she pleases. This was also the reason why they had not appeared to stop her at the beginning.
It was precisely because of this that she had been so willful.
"But... Goddess Freya, do you think that highly of him?"
"Who? Ari?"
"..."
"I know, I know. The person you're talking about is Kobayashi, right?"
At his silent expression, she lazily stretched, and at the same time, gestured for him not to be nervous.
"—I just find it interesting."
The Goddess of Beauty said.
Interesting?
He couldn't help but look at her, trying to see something in her face.
She let out a light laugh. "Don't misunderstand. I have no intention of letting that child join the Familia. Admittedly, that child is outstanding, but his soul is already in a state of chaos."
The only requirement to join her Familia was her approval.
Clearly, he had not been chosen by her.
"The part of that child that interests me... is the divine power that envelops his soul."
"..."
"That divine power, which is pure to the extreme, is quite unfamiliar. But in my memory, there is no god in Tenkai with such pure divine power. That's why I find it interesting."
"..."
"It's just that when I tried to sound him out, that child cleverly responded with silence. As I said before, in such an environment, a person who instinctively knows to remain silent is either someone who has been educated to avoid leaking secrets, or someone who is in frequent contact with the gods. Ari is the former, and he is the latter."
Her meaning was obvious.
That is, the divine power on him was indeed a protection bestowed upon him by a certain god. And combined with his previous words that he would only serve that one god and refused to join any other Familia, the answer was already on the table.
And his traveler status.
He had said before that he had been to not just towns and countries, but also to other worlds. That was probably the divine realm.
And it was precisely because of this that he had obtained a god's favor.
"Ottar, what do you think of my reasoning?"
"...It coexists with your beauty. Your wisdom is unmatched. The other gods are far from being your equal."
Ottar naturally offered his most sincere praise.
And she was very pleased. She curled her lips and took a light sip of the wine in her glass.
Actually, that wasn't all.
Through her divine eyes, which could see through souls, she had also seen through his soul. Although the core was in chaos, it was not as if there was no way to remedy it.
The proof was that when they had gone to the slave district and had seen the scantily clad and numb-looking slaves, his soul had undergone a brief, violent fluctuation.
But, at that time, it was developing in a bad direction.
The darkness emanating from the chaotic core was constantly eroding the pure divine power that enveloped the outside, in order to strengthen itself.
But just as she thought it was a turn towards "fallen," that pure divine power had actually emitted a gentle white light and re-purified it, forcibly suppressing the vile transformation.
And when she had deliberately tested him, buying the slaves and setting them free, that chaotic core had gradually calmed down. On the contrary, the divine power had gained the upper hand and had purified the core quite a bit.
Saving the slaves, buying the mansion, receiving the slaves, freeing the slaves.
She had conducted several tests in a row.
As she had thought, the development of good and evil would affect the transformation of his soul. In other words, doing good deeds would make his soul pure, and doing evil deeds would make his soul chaotic. Although his appearance did not change, his thinking and behavior patterns would undergo a considerable change.
If he were to be properly... trained... he could, like Ottar and the others, bloom with radiance.
Unfortunately, she was not in the mood, nor was she interested.
Even if she succeeded, the radiance of his soul would be far inferior to Ari's, so after she had ascertained this, she had lost interest in him.
Don't misunderstand.
This was not a question of whether to pick up a single Faril or a bag of Faril that had fallen on the ground.
The greedy practice of picking up both was normal, but it did not conform to her aesthetics. After all, she had come out this time to find a partner (Odr), not to collect a harem.
He would, on the contrary, interfere with her "date" with Ari.
In other words, between him and Ari, she had chosen the latter.
"I won't be needing that child to accompany me anymore. But I still have to give him a reward for his escort along the way." Her long, slender fingers tapped her chin, and she began to think about how to reward him.
"I've got it."
She looked at Ottar behind her, and with a smile, said, "Ottar. That child also seems to be a warrior. Why don't you go and 'guide' him a little?"
"As you command."
Ottar the warrior accepted the goddess's decree.
After a gentle breeze, his figure disappeared.
At this moment, she suddenly paused and said, "I forgot to tell Ottar to go easy on him. Oh well. Nothing should happen."
In her eyes, this was just a trivial matter.
The favor that a god bestows upon a mortal is very heavy. Whether they can bear it or not is up to them.
The Goddess of Beauty was just that willful.
On the other side.
On his way back from sending Ari off, he ran into Bofman.
He had wanted to greet him, but Bofman was swaying like a walking corpse, and had no intention of greeting him at all.
This merchant, who coveted the goddess's body, looked extremely haggard. His eyes were blank, and he was constantly muttering things like, "I am a black pig, no different from trash. I will not make any move to offend Goddess Freya."
Poor Bofman. It seemed his "training" was complete.
By the way, where should I sleep tonight?
His tense nerves, after the revelry, had completely relaxed. The former slaves were lying all over the lobby, fast asleep.
Because it was a green island, the temperature at night was not low, so no one bothered them.
But if one can sleep in a bed, who would want to sleep on the floor?
Just as he was thinking of randomly finding a room to rest in, an uninvited guest blocked his path.
The moon hung high in the night sky, and dark clouds covered a part of it. And that figure was standing in the shadows. His blurry figure made it impossible to see his face.
But for him, who had [Spectator], and for RyuZU, who had super-vision, it was not a problem.
He's strong.
Just from the moonlight revealing the bulging muscles of his upper body, his heart had already entered a state of alert. Not to mention, the two pig ears on top of his head made him even more wary, and he couldn't help but click his tongue.
—The "Boar" Ottar.
His height of two meters made him a head taller than him, and his burly figure, with a heavy broadsword on his back, combined with his cold expression, gave off a considerable sense of pressure just from his appearance alone.
After all, the other party was a LV7 powerhouse. With just himself, there was no possibility of defeating him.
Not to mention, he also had a powerful skill that made him stronger as he fought.
But he probably wasn't here to kill him. He could feel that. Although he was exuding a dangerous aura, unlike that bristling cat, he had no killing intent.
He looked up slightly, meeting the warrior's eyes.
"It's so late. I was wondering what you need from me?" he spoke first, breaking the silence.
Otherwise, with his taciturn personality, the two of them would just be staring at each other, wasting time.
Ottar raised his right hand.
In the moonlight, he saw that he was holding a scimitar. This was a unique weapon in the desert, and also the most common.
He tossed the knife over.
He caught it with one hand.
Ottar drew the heavy broadsword—the Tyrant's Black Sword—from his back, pointed it at him, and at the same time, gestured for him to also raise the scimitar in his hand.
Don't tell me he doesn't like the look of me and has come specially to teach me a lesson?
He muttered inwardly.
If it were that bristling cat, Allen, or the four pallums, he could understand. But Ottar, with his calm and composed warrior's personality... would he also do such a thing?
RyuZU took a step forward, stood in front of him, and said with a sharp tongue, "Master Kobayashi. I didn't expect that besides a cat, a pig would also want to bite. That goddess is surrounded by weirdos."
"...Don't say that. His race is just 'pallum'," he explained.
He seemed very relaxed.
It wasn't because her ability put him in an invincible position from the start, but because the other party, apart from a terrifying pressure, had not released any killing intent. So it was highly unlikely he was here to kill him.
And just as he had thought.
Ottar was not angered by her sharp tongue, but said plainly, "I am following the goddess's decree to come and 'guide' you."
"...'Guide'?"
He was stunned.
Relieved, and at the same time, a little disappointed.
It seemed she felt she didn't need him anymore, so she had sent Ottar to guide him as a reward.
But what I want is the Falna, not combat techniques!
RyuZU, on the other hand, said with a sharp tongue, "Master Kobayashi, although your combat techniques are indeed unsightly, I do not think you need to fight. As your attendant, I can completely clear all obstacles for you. Even this pig that looks like a person, I can defeat him."
"Hey, hey, hey, don't say that. At the very least, he is the strongest in Orario," he said, with deliberate sarcasm, and then secretly observed his face.
And the powerhouse before him remained expressionless, standing there quietly, like a thick shield.
It had to be admitted, this guy was a thorough warrior, who had completely abandoned his personal likes and dislikes, and was calm and collected, not letting his emotions affect him.
If it were Allen or one of those other hot-tempered older brothers, they would have long since attacked her in anger.
Of course, the result would surely have been a one-sided situation.
—She would win. No matter how many people came, the result would be the same.
Ottar was waiting for him.
Even if he didn't agree, he would still "guide" him by force.
Because this was the goddess's order.
And he, who was absolutely loyal to her, would use any means to complete the mission.
Phew—
"It seems I have no choice but to go."
He couldn't help but sigh.
Oh well. He also wanted to see just how big the gap was between himself and a LV7 powerhouse.
He put down the scimitar and raised the longsword at his waist.
"I'm used to this weapon," he explained, looked around, and then tilted his chin at him. "Let's go to the courtyard. We shouldn't destroy the exquisite reliefs."
Ottar silently walked from the long corridor to the courtyard, answering with his actions.
He also came to stand opposite him.
The two of them raised their weapons, facing each other from a distance. Their auras continuously gathered, pressing against each other.
But as his face turned red and his aura became unstable, Ottar's easy, composed appearance... just from this, one could see that the gap between them was not small.
And what was even more despairing was the gap in their combat experience.
Knowing that if this went on, he might not even be able to swing his sword, he gritted his teeth and forced a move.
He bent down and rushed towards him. In just one second, he had crossed several meters. A cold light flashed under the moon. In the next instant, he was about to cut off his head. But Ottar just turned his broadsword, and with a "clang," he blocked it.
He lifted something heavy as if it were light!
With just this one move, he knew that he had been thoroughly defeated in terms of technique.
In that case, I'll just have to show my all!
[Spectator], open!
[Perfector], open!
[Shambhala], open!
The strongest close-combat combination!
He didn't use magic or any little tricks. Since this was a "guidance," then he would show his all and absorb the other's experience to strengthen himself.
The purple magic circle appeared and then dissipated. His figure continuously flickered around him. Each time, he would appear from an unexpected place, and the longsword in his hand would stab out from a tricky angle. The slightest carelessness, and he would die on the spot.
But in such a a dangerous situation, Ottar, on the contrary, seemed at ease.
If you thought that just because he was burly and used a greatsword, he was not agile, then you would be gravely mistaken!
That broadsword was exceptionally nimble in his hands, not at all dragged down by its heavy mass.
He couldn't help but think of a phrase.
—Zhang Fei doing embroidery; there is finesse in his roughness.
Most importantly, it was as if he had already guessed where he would appear from. He was always able to intercept his attacks a step ahead.
A strange feeling of familiarity.
He thought of Esdeath. That domineering queen had relied on her ice ability to capture his attacks in advance. So what was he relying on?
Using three Teigu at the same time was a great burden on his mind. After a short while, his thoughts were scattered, and his offensive had slowed down.
A hesitant sword cannot kill. So Ottar seized the opportunity, grabbed his arm, and while forcibly stopping him from teleporting, he fiercely threw him to the ground.
Pfft—
He spat out a mouthful of turbid air.
Ottar looked down at him, who was lying on his back on the ground, and said indifferently, "Your sword is slow."
"How did you guess where I would appear from?" he asked, voicing the doubt in his heart.
"Killing intent."
Ottar was still a man of few words, but he still understood.
It must be that every time before he teleported, his eyes had carried an obvious killing intent, which had been caught by the other party. And then he had taken the opportunity to use this point to neutralize his attacks in advance.
The key was not the method, but the ability to find a way to break it in such a short time.
It was a complete crush in terms of experience.
A monster!
This was the second time he had exclaimed this.
However, what he had never expected was that Ottar would say another sentence to him: "You... should stop using a sword."
"...What?"
He was dumbfounded.
(End of Chapter)